Another International Crisis, Another Line in the Sand

Hang on to your bar stools, the Obama Administration is talking tough again.

Secretary of State John Kerry warned Moscow of “serious” repercussions if weekend negotiations on the fate of Ukraine don’t yield some positive results.

And he means it.

Really.

Really, really.

Aw, c’mon stop laughing.

The Obama Administration has lost virtually all international credibility at this point. Whenever Kerry or President Obama tries to play John Wayne, Russian President Vladimir Putin just nods indulgently and goes back to reading his fan mail from women tired of dating effeminate men.

Sunday’s referendum on whether Crimea will secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation is causing what the Brits call “a spot of bother” in the European Union.

U.S. and European officials say that Russia is orchestrating the referendum (duh), and if it goes through, they won’t recognize the new Crimean state as legitimate under international law.

If that happens, then the U.S. and Europe would impose sanctions.

And if Putin makes them really mad, they might take their ball and go home.

Putin must just be laughing himself silly. If Europe tries to strong-arm him, all he has to do is shut off their gas supply to bring them to their knees. (Yay, globalization!)

What sanctions does Kerry think will work on Russia, exactly? Russia at this point has a stronger economy than we do, and it has been talking with China and other countries for a few years about creating a new global currency standard that would break the dollar’s back.

Russian companies have already pulled billions of dollars out of Western banks in anticipation of the Obama Administration’s scheduled Monday morning hissy fit.

“There will be a very serious series of steps on Monday,” Kerry said. If he had added, “you wascally wabbit” he might have been more believable.

Kerry (who by the way served in Vietnam until he received his third Purple Heart for a Band-Aid-worthy combat injury) added, “I’ve been impressed on how united our European allies are on this … to a person, to a country, they are very, very committed to make sure there is accountability.”

That’s good. Because when Russian tanks swing into the Ukraine and take over, I’m sure the first word on everybody’s lips will be “accountability” — as opposed to, say, “run.”

If the U.S. goes ahead with sanctions on Monday, it seems unlikely, at best, that there will be any effect on either the situation in the Ukraine or on Russia’s attitude. Alternatively, it might give Russia just the kick it needs to try out that new global currency idea.

Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and other people saw an invasion of Ukraine in the cards years ago because of the Obama Administration’s weak character and even weaker foreign policy vision.

This is what happens, America, when you elect someone with neither the experience nor moral fiber to be a world leader.